First up, captured over my lunch break today, are a pair of Golden Crowned Kinglets. This is the male:

And here is the female:

They are tiny little things, and fast moving. It took a bit of fast-focusing to get these semi-decent shots. The photo of the male is not the clearest, but I like it.

The backyard features a large, 3-story, old pine tree – not too far from the house, which has made it easy for me to pick up a few old hobbies of mine… birdwatching and photography.

Birds fascinate me. Each species has their own interesting traits, characteristics, and migratory patterns. When a new bird appears, it’s a new challenge to pursue. What is it?! Aside from, what Nate would likely confirm as, obsessive observations – I have 2 other tools to help me identify each new bird that makes an appearance. First, is the iBird Midwest iPhone app; second, is my trusty telephoto lens.

Part of the challenge that I enjoy, is getting out my Nikon, hooking up the telephoto lens, and waiting until the bird stops jumping around, or moves into just the right light – allowing me to finally snap a fairly decent photo. It’s like True Detective: Bird Edition. It’s a practice of patience. And it’s something that I do to relax and distract.

Without any further ado, here are a few of the best photos (either aesthetically or just because it’s a cool bird) that I’ve managed to capture over the last 4 months. P.S. I saved the best for last.

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Birds of the Winter
All common visitors, except for the fancy red-bellied woodpecker.
Clockwise from top-left: white breasted nuthatch, slate-colored dark-eyed junco, red-bellied woodpecker, and blue jay.

European Starlings
I don’t know why people dislike starlings so much – just look at that coloring! I swear, Beyoncé probably has a bodysuit that looks just like this…

Tufted Titmouse
Who named this bird? Really? Apparently, the Old English meaning of “titmouse” is small bird, where tit means small. Okaaay.

Red Birds
Red birds are awesomely beautiful, but sometimes it’s just too much… tone it down, guys. That’s why I like female cardinals a bit more. Left: a purple finch among the leaves; Right: a female cardinal.

Magnolia Warbler
This beauty just arrived in the last week and has likely already departed to complete it’s migration to the U.P. or Canada.
It kept pretty high up in the pine tree and jumped from branch to branch pretty quickly – making it a fairly challenging bird to photograph.

Female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
And finally, there’s this tiny, little love who came in from migration about a week ago. As you probably guessed, she was also extremely difficult to photograph. Fortunately, they’re pretty fond of perching in thick trees between sips of syrup.

It was a great time, overall. We met some great people. We saw a lot of very cool, beautiful, and interesting things. We learned a bit about the city and country. And we took a wrong turn in Asia that resulted in a long and relatively un-scenic 5-mile walk along the coastline, but in the end I got to see some dolphins in the Bosphorus, and then we ate Pizza.

I don’t usually do a lot of B&W work, but for some reason most of my really good Istanbul photos ended up that way. I think it gave them a more distant, dreamlike, and memorable feel. Only regret: not bringing my wide-angle lens. So here they are, the best of Istanbul.

Lastly, I took a ~10 minute cab ride from the conference to the hotel (after a week at RailsConf and an oversees flight, I wasn’t feeling too hot) and decided to take a video of the sights along the way. There are some interesting moments when we passed through an area of curb side markets selling things like toilets, sink faucets, road cones… you know, random stuff.

Not pictured here: my favorite part of the trip – sampling beers at Saugatuck Brewing, New Holland Brewing, and Bell’s Brewing. :D

Holland, Michigan

Saugatuck, Michigan

View the Flickr Photo Set

Improv Score: 4/5

Curry Lentil, Pepper, and Bacon Seitan Soup

1 package of Bacon Seitan (sliced into 1-2 inch strips)
1 cup dry lentils
5 oz spinach (roughly chopped)
1/2 green bell pepper (chopped)
1 jalapeño (chopped small)
1 celery stalk (sliced thinly)
1/2 cucumber (diced)
6 grape tomatoes (quartered)
2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
curry
a pinch of onion powder
a pinch of dried ginger
salt & pepper
4 cups vegetable broth
4 cups water
2 tbsp olive oil

1. In a very large saucepan or dutch oven, warm oil on medium heat and saute garlic for about 30 seconds or until the scent has been released.
2. Add green pepper and jalapeño to the pan and saute for 3-5 minutes or until softened.
3. Add celery and cucumber to the pan and saute 2-3 minutes more until softened.
4. Stir in broth and water, lentils, and spices to taste. How much curry do you like? Bring to a simmer and cook 20-30 minutes until lentils are soft.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the bacon seitan as the packaging instructs. Set aside.
6. Once lentils are softened, add bacon seitan, spinach, and tomatoes to the soup and simmer until spinach is wilted.
7. Adjust seasoning throughout cooking by adding more spices, additional veggie bouillon, and olive oil.
8. Enjoy

Improv Score: 4.5/5

White Bean, Kale, and Italian Seitan Sausage Soup

1 package of Italian seitan
1lb dry white beans (cannelloni, great northern, etc.)
4 leaves of kale (roughly chopped)
1/2 white onion (chopped)
1 shallot (chopped)
4 cloves of garlic (chopped)
3 carrots (chopped)
1 bay leaf
dried sage
dried rosemary
dried thyme
dried basil
dried fennel
salt & pepper
5 cups vegetable broth
5 cups water
pecorino romano cheese rind
pecorino romano cheese (for topping)
2 tbsp olive oil

1. In a very large saucepan or dutch oven, warm oil on medium heat and saute garlic for about 30 seconds or until the scent has been released.
2. Add onion and shallots to pan and saute for 3-5 minutes or until onions start to become transparent.
3. Add broth, water, dry beans, bay leaf, dried spices (to your taste preference), and the cheese rind. Simmer for an hour or until beans are cooked through.
4. While the soup simmers, prepare seitan as instructed by the packaging. Set aside.
5. Once beans are cooked through, add carrots, seitan, and kale. Simmering about 15 minutes or until carrots are cooked and kale has wilted.
6. Adjust seasoning throughout cooking by adding more spices, additional veggie bouillon, and olive oil.
7. Remove bay leaf and cheese rind. Serve and top with extra shredded cheese.

Pro Tip: Cook a day in advance and reheat. The flavors and textures really come together!

Day 30 – El Gato del Fuego… silly kitteh.

Day 31 (2/1) – Detroit Ruins – If there is traffic on I-94 heading to work in the morning, we’ll often get off early and take Michigan Ave into town. The state of the city out there is a pretty clear example what used to be a thriving metropolitan, but is now quite literally in a state of ruin. It is both sad and beautiful.

Day 32 (2/2) – Liquor and Henna

Day 33 (2/3) – Superbowl – Didn’t get any super awesome shots, so I took this one and applied some super awesome vintage presets. I say, good enough.

Day 34 (2/4) – YOLO – True story.

Day 35 (2/5) – Ashley’s 30th Anniversary – Had many an awesome Bell’s beer at this event, a lot of bourbon barrel-aged stouts! :)

Day 36 (2/6) – Renaissance Glow – Detroit seems to be coming back, slowly but surely.

Day 37 (2/7) – Carnival in the City – Setting up for the Winter Blast in Detroit.

Day 38 (2/8) – Winter in the D

Day 39 (2/9) – Heartstrings

Day 40 (2/10) – Self-Portrait

Day 28 – Detroit.

Day 29 – Life Happens.